August 2010

New In-Depth Classes from Idealware!

By Laura Quinn, August 26, 2010

 We're excited this fall to be trying out a series of longer classes -- both online and live.  We'd love your help in spreading the word to those who might be interested -- we're trying to gauge the interest to decide whether we should offer the online ones.  Pass on the information!

 Email Fundraising: Online Deep Dive
6 online sessions: Tuesdays 3:00 - 4:30 Eastern Time
Starting Tues, Sep 14th and running through Tues, Oct 12th
$275 for up to three people in the same organization
Over the course of this six part series, you will design and create a full-fledged email fundraising campaign, ready to go for your year-end appeal. Through expert-led sessions, worksheets, and review of your work by both peers and experts, we'll walk you through creating an overall strategy, writing a series of emails, defining the email and online donation tools that you'll need, and creating an approach to tracking and measuring your success. This course will require about two hours a week outside of the sessions themselves, and is geared at those who want to literally produce an email fundraising campaign during the course. Sound interesting to you? Please let us know so we can gauge interest in the course.

Low-Cost Donor Management Systems: Online Deep Dive
5 online sessions: Wed and Fri 3:00 - 4:30 Eastern Time
Starting Wed, Sep 22nd and running through Wed, Oct 6th
$190 for up to three people in the same organization
 Looking to explore the world of low-cost donor management systems? We'll take you through a deep dive of the easier to setup options that are under $2500 in the first year (some much cheaper). Through sessions and worksheets, we'll first help you define what's important to you in a donor management system. We'll then take in-depth look at five systems -- Giftworks, eTapestry, DonorPerfect Online, Z2 Neon, and Common Ground-- with both vendor demos and expert commentary. We'll help you pick a few systems to focus on, and walk through how to choose and implement a system. Sound interesting to you? Please let us know so we can gauge interest in the course.

Boston Email Fundraising Bootcamp: In Person Training
September 30, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm Eastern. $125.00
Conducted in partnership with Third Sector New England, this IN PERSON TRAINING conducted in Boston, MA will be an intensive, activity-packed day to help you jumpstart your email fundraising efforts. Whether you are new to the world of email fundraising or just need a refresher, join us to hear from experts from Idealware and other firms and get hands-on help from peers and consultants in thinking through and beginning to design your own email fundraising strategy. Register now>

Stay in School: A review of Lullabot Learning Series Videos

By Johanna Bates, August 24, 2010

(8/25 Update: I contacted Lullabot and they say that they offer a 10% discount for nonprofit orgs. The best way to get a discount is to contact Lullabot directly.)

Though I’ve worked in many different content management systems, I’ve primarily been working in Drupal for the last four years. Since tech is always changing, a good techie is always learning. When you’re a nonprofit techie on a limited budget, it can be hard to know what learning resources to invest in.  In this case, my first instinct was to turn to Lullabot—a company that’s widely considered to be the gold standard in Drupal expertise.

Lullabot has been doing Drupal for what seems like forever. The Lullabot team literally wrote the O’Reilly Using Drupal book. So I promptly went out and bought the book, because, in theory, I like the romantic notion that I am going to kick back in my home office and thumb through my library of bound technical manuals. In reality, my O’Reilly books take up a ton of space on my shelf, and I am far more likely to first turn to Google when I have a code problem rather than look it up in a book.

I’ve learned over the years that I learn best when I am as actively engaged as possible with the source material, and when I can go back again and again to review things. So I was very interested to find out that Lullabot has a series of learning videos. They’re about $75 apiece (a little cheaper when bought in bundles). I decided to take the plunge and give one a try.

My particular area of Drupal expertise is theming (and all the configuration tricks that go along with it), so the first video I tried was the Advanced Theming. After that one video, I was convinced that they were going to work for me, and I decided to get a few more them to reinforce and fill gaps in my self-taught Drupal knowledge. So I also snagged Theming Basics, and the Views and CCK bundle. Most recently, I got the jQuery and Javascript videos, too.

Each video is roughly three hours long and is broken out into helpful chapters. They feature endearingly geeky Lullabot experts who painstakingly explain the mysteries of Drupal alongside easy-to-follow screens of code. CEO and co-founder Jeff Robbins and themer Nate Haug were the main protagonists of the particular videos I’ve been using (note for others who care: the Lullabot team does have high-level women techs on it, too, even though they aren’t featured in these particular videos).

Nate and Jeff are extremely clear and methodical, leading the viewer through code, building it step-by-step and then showing the results of that code in a browser. The Theming Basics video was elementary for me, but was still worth it for the shortcuts and tips they offer there—the ins and outs of special Drupal modules that exist to help developers and themers, Firebug tricks, etc. Being a typical web junkie, I can watch them in a fragmented way, starting and stopping and coding in-between to reinforce what I am learning in a real-life context (this is particularly great now that I am working with jQuery). When they lead me to an a-ha moment, where I understand exactly how some snippet of code is put together, I pause the video and use SnagIt to make quick-reference screen captures for myself.

At least for my particular learning style, these videos are the best tech learning resource I’ve come across in the last decade of my career and I give them my highest recommendation for anyone who works in Drupal or who wants to learn. Though I’ve known about Lullabot for years, the videos have turned me into a loyal fan. I’m even thinking about traveling to one of their in-person workshops. When and if I can afford to pull that off, I’ll definitely report back.

Professional Slide Presentations for Regular People

By Steve Backman, August 17, 2010

 I read Garr Reynold’s Presentation Zen (see his blog, http://www.presentationzen.com/)  while getting a workshop ready for last spring’s NTC (http://www.nten.org/ntc).  Read Presentation Zen when you need inspiration in focusing, simplifying and designing your slide presentation so your ideas shine through.


Microsoft Office Powerpoint has become the pervasive means for organizing group presentations. Not just the software, but also the method of speaking and organizing. Yes, I also use Open Office (http://openoffice.org "Impress") and Google Docs Presentations. For preparing a  set of slides quickly, those will do quite well (or Apple Keynote). I especially want to say that all of Open Office 3 now have a solid finish to them, whether on a PC, Mac or Linux computer. Yet like other Microsoft Office products, Powerpoint shines partly based on features, and partly based on high quality fonts, graphics, style sheets and full bore templates. The online MS Office library has good, usable graphics, templates (color, layout and font schemes) and presentation outlines to start from or at least use for comparison.  

Yet this packing of Powerpoint with tons of design aids has put way too powerful of tools in the hands of too many speakers with too few clear ideas and too little graphic design sense.  See http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint for a reaction to this trend. And here is the classic 2003 Wired article from Edward Tufte: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html

Presentation Zen seemingly arose as an antidote to letting slide show form dominate over speaker message.
At first glance, you wouldn't suspect this of the book, which is rife with full color photos and illustrations. Not quite coffee table-level, but heading in that direction. How can such a book teach anyone simplicity?

If you just want the quick fix, head instead to the sample slide shows on office.microsoft.com afterall. And I still find amusing Guy Kawasaki’s five year old blog post offering the 10/20/30 rule of Powerpoint, http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html#axzz0tYdu3KcW

Garr Reynolds offers something more substantial. This short book aims to teach you how to think your ideas in ways that have strong aesthetics yet let the message shine through. The visual and multimedia elements complement and call attention to what is important--enabling you to speak in a direct, unencumbered, and authentic voice. If you know that insane animations just drive everyone crazy while slide after slide of tiny bullets put people to sleep, the book will help you find your own ground.
 

For those maybe used to word processing or spreadsheets, he has three framework chapters about how to organize your thoughts specifically for a presentation. Many of us probably start by writing a short essay or lengthy email to presentation collaborators or to one's self. Then try to turn that into presentation slides. Planning and outlining can and should be different to fit the goal (a presentation to a group) and a tool (slide software).  Using presentation software effectively can help turn just reading a speech into a lively, engaging, participatory presentation. This is Reynolds' perspective.

He then walks the reader through practical design lessons and techniques. He has both organizing ideas at the grand scale and also discussions on nitty gritty details. Right down to topics such as whether you need your logo on every slide. He gives practical idea on how to present data in graphs, including when and how to keep audiences awake with complementary images.

Speaking of images, while top draw advertising firms may commission their own photos and such, Reynolds stresses the ability to include high quality yet inexpensive graphics from places such as istockphoto. (I would also mention searching on flickr for creative commons licensed images).  Personally, I have been trying to use more of my own photos in presentations. Not that I’m a great photographer. It has become part of the sifting and reflection process--and putting the message first-- to find or take my own photos.

A third section of the book takes on bringing your slides to life in the actual presentation. Slides are not meant to be emailed and read like a report. They are meant to be delivered, whether in person or via on-line workshop. His suggestions here also blend the overall technique with practical suggestions about length, logistics and lighting.

Overall, the book has lots of good stuff, whether painfully learned reminders or new to you, and I recommend it. Here's to not turning powerpoint into a verb while keeping alive what is useful in this tool.

 

Some useful random resources I would mention (I'm sure you have many more):
Reynold’s blog, http://www.presentationzen.com/
A presentation by Reynolds on presentations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ2vtQCESpk
Sacha Chua’s 7 tips on remote presentations: http://sachachua.com/blog/2009/10/7-tips-for-remote-presentations-that-rock/
Slideshop.com: for reasonably priced Powerpoint templates that fit a specific need. (Yes, some of these could get you back into overdo it land, but that’s why you need Reynolds.)
And, Confessions of a Public Speaker, Scott Berkun’s (www.scottberkun.com)  great little book, which I have already reviewed on this blog earlier.
 
And please note: this is part 1 of a 2 part series on the tools and resources for effective presentations. Next, Debra Askanase will take on slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, by Nancy Duarte.

 

The World of Ticketing Options

By Laura Quinn, August 4, 2010

 We're in the midst of researching options for ticketing software for a big training for arts organizations.  It's a complicated area, with the potential of a lot of advanced requirements. You don't need to be a very large arts venue to want to be able to sell tickets to reserved seats both  through a box office and online.  And pretty much any venue would want to be able to integrate data about patrons who have bought tickets with a fundraising process, to consider them as donors.  But when you put these two together, it makes for a complex, and often expensive system.

 
General Admissions Ticketing
At the lowest end of the spectrum, there's general admission seating solutions.  You can use the same vendors in this area as you would use for paid event registration -- as for registering for a workshop or a class.  Vendors in this space, like EventBrite or BrownPaperTickets (or see our Few Good Event Registration Tools for a broader overview) allow you to sell tickets online, including different levels of tickets to the same event (like VIP or mezzanine tickets). BrownPaperTickets is particularly compelling in this area, as they'll send your patrons actual paper tickets via mail, if desired.  
 
Box office staff could certainly buy tickets for patrons that call in via the same interface, but there's no particular support for this, so it may be awkward.  These tools don't offer anything in the way of fundraising support, so you'll have to integrate the data to with another system to do most any donation solicitiation.  You can export a file to import into any donor management system, or EventBrite or BrownPaperTickets both integrate with Salesforce.
 
Stand-Alone Solutions for Reserved Seats
If you just need to sell reserved seats for your venue, and it's not critical to you to easily pull your event patrons into your fundraising process, there's a lot of small online software that will allow you to easily sell tickets.  These websites -- like Tix.com, TixHub, TicketTurtle.com, and Vendini --- allow you to sell tickets, often including box office functionality to print tickets to box office printers.  BrownPaperTickets has also recently added reserved seating functionality. In a similar vein, New Concept Software's Tick-It! Trak Pro and  Center Stage Software's WinTix/WebTix provide both installed box office software and online solutions.
 
None of these systems will support any kind of robust fundraising, however, such as tracking pledges or gifts in kind.  
 
Integrated Constituent Tracking and Ticketing Solutions
Even for a small organization, it can be very useful to have a single system that allows you to track not just tickets but also a full fundraising process -- from pledges to gift-in-kind to major donor cultivation processes.  Easy-Ware's TotalInfo and Arts Management Systems' Theatre Manager are both interesting options in this realm, tailored for nonprofits.  They provide affordable software which is installed on your own computer, with integrated online ticketing functionality.  
 
Patron Technologies, best known for the broadcast email tool PatronMail, has just introduced a new system called PatronManager which is built on top of the Salesforce platform to include reserved seating ticketing and box-office functionality.  It’s an interesting option especially for small to medium sized organizations who have a number of constituents to track in addition to their patrons.
 
For medium sized and larger organizations, Choice Ticketing Systems and AudienceView Ticketing provide more sophisticated functionality.  Neither of these tools specializes in donor management, but each provides some constituent tracking functionality as well as the ability to take and track donations.  Paciolan, recently acquired by Comcast, provides ticketing and fundraising functionality for larger organizations. Blackbaud’s The Patron Edge also provides box office functionality, with some ability to integrate into The Raisers Edge.
 
Last but certainly not least, Tessitura is the Cadillac of the arts management world.  It's very well respected for highly usable functionality that truly integrates complex box office, online ticketing, and fundraising and more.  It's a complex system that's much more appropriate for organizations with multi-million dollar budgets than for small ones -- it requires considerable customization, training, and staff time to use.
 
Solutions Specializing in Commercial Venues
If you have complex box office needs but don't need a lot of fundraising functionality, you may find that the ticketing systems used primarily by stadiums and commercial venues work well for your needs.  These systems -- like ProVenue by Tickets.com, Ticketmaster Classic or Ticketmaster Archtics -- don't tend to have much sophisticated functionality to track donor interactions, pledges, or a donation made with an event payment, but instead focus on complex online and offline box office functionality needed by venue.
 
What Else?
We’re still in the midst of researching, so your comments would be very helpful.  Know the ticketing space?  Who have we missed?  What did we get wrong?  (Please note that this isn’t intended to be a comprehensive list of EVERY ticketing option, just an overview of some of the most widely used).
 
By the way, if you’re interested in ticketing, check out Technology In The Arts’ 2009 Ticketing Software Satisfaction Survey, for a useful look at what’s important to organizations and system usage, divided by size of organization.